Dancing on Ice stars come to Team Bath
Stars from ITV’s hit show Dancing on Ice headed west to take part in a rhythmic gymnastics training session at Team Bath.
Former EastEnder Sam Attwater and his pro skating dance partner Brianne Delcourt joined a Great Britain Group training session at the University of Bath Sports Training Village.
The pair were shown the ropes with some ribbons under the guidance of Sarah Binding, head coach of the City of Bath Rhythmic Gymnastics Club and lead coach of the Great Britain Group training, along with teenage gymnasts Frankie Fox, Louisa Pouli and Rachel Smith.
The Dancing on Ice pair took part in a training session to try to improve their synchronisation following criticism from some of the show’s judges.
And their efforts clearly came up trumps as Sam and Brianne topped the judge’s leaderboard with 27 points for their ‘riverdance on ice’ performance on Sunday’s show.
Sarah said: “It was a brilliant experience and they both did really well. The fact that we were asked to help out shows that rhythmic gymnastics is getting greater recognition.”
Afterwards Sam joked that it was a shame men couldn’t compete in the sport at the Olympics. “It was good fun and I really enjoyed it, so it’s a shame men can’t compete at the Olympics.
“We came to the University of Bath because the last few weeks we’ve had some comments form the judges that we’ve been a bit out of synch, and I’m hoping this will help. I think we got on all right.”
Brianne added: “The girls were incredible. Hopefully I’ve picked up a few moves.”
City of Bath Rhythmic Gymnastics Club member Frankie Fox, a bronze medallist with England in the team event at last year’s Delhi Commonwealth Games, said: “I thought they were really good and I was quite impressed with how quickly they picked things up. I really enjoyed it and it was nice to be able to share our sport with other people.”
Rachel Smith of the City of Coventry Gymnastics Club said: “They were really fun to work with. They picked it up quite quickly and it was great to be involved.”
Louisa Pouli of Birmingham’s Elena Rhythmic Gymnastics Club, said: “It was really good fun. After showing them things a few times, they seemed to pick it up really quickly.”
The University of Sports Training Village is open to all, from complete sporting beginners through to athletes training for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
For further information please contact the Team Bath press office at Matchtight Ltd on 01225 383518.
